The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Aster plant, botanically known as Aster novi-belgii and referred to by the cultivar name Pink Milka.
The new Aster is a whole plant mutation of the commercial Aster novi-belgii cultivar Milka, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 10,602. The new Aster was discovered and selected by the Inventor in a controlled environment in Ter Aar, The Netherlands, as a single flowering plant among a population of plants of the parent cultivar Milka in June, 1994. This single plant consistently formed inflorescences having light pink ray florets compared to the light purple ray florets of the cultivar Milka.
Asexual reproduction of the new Aster by terminal cuttings taken at Ter Aar, The Netherlands, has shown that the unique features of this new Aster are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Pink Milkaxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Pink Milkaxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Freely and uniform flowering.
2. Decorative inflorescence form with light pink ray florets.
3. Good post-production longevity.
Plants of the new Aster can be compared to plants of the sibling cultivar Dark Milka (U.S. Plant patent application Ser. No. 09/263,154). Plants of the new Aster have narrowly obovate and light pink ray florets whereas plants of the cultivar Dark Milka have narrowly elliptic and dark purple ray florets.
Plants of the new Aster can also be compared to plants of the sibling cultivar Karmijn Milka (U.S. Plant patent application Ser. No. 09/263,153). Plants of the new Aster have narrowly obovate and light pink ray florets whereas plants of the cultivar Karmijn Milka have narrowly elliptic and purple ray florets.
The cultivar Pink Milka has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength and light intensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.